Patreon Exclusive- Eri #1- Candy Moments

The sun made a warm square on the lounge floor.

Eri sat inside it.

The tile was smooth beneath her legs, her knees tucked in, socks too long for her feet. Outside the window, a branch tapped the glass. She didn’t flinch this time. Just blinked at the sudden voice that would fright her a few days ago.

She reached into her pouch.

The fabric was soft but strong. Nejire had helped her pick it. Pink, with little clouds stitched on the edge. Inside were seven candies, each wrapped in shiny paper, colors like little stars on the floor.

She lined them up slowly.

One. Two. Three.

Each looked exactly the same, but she could tell them apart. Not because of the sugar inside, but memory.

She touched the first.

–

The chopsticks were heavy, even though they weren’t. Her fingers cramped in the wrong places, trying to remember how Ryuu held them at dinner the previous night. Her hand slipped. The shrimp tempura bounced twice before sliding off the table.

Her heart stopped.

She reached for it with a gasp, breath caught in her throat like a mistake she couldn’t fix fast enough. Her hand hovered over the table’s edge, eyes wide.

But the expected shout never came.

Ryuu leaned back in his chair, still eating. He didn’t even look away from his phone. One hand scrolled. The other shoved a whole bite of rice into his mouth. He gave her a lazy sideways thumbs-up.

“Mmmph. Close enough,” he said with a full mouth. “Still counts.”

The pressure left her chest so fast it made her dizzy.

Still counts.

She earned that candy later. Nejire had said so. "You didn’t panic this time, and you kept going. That’s huge."

Eri hadn’t believed her.

Not until Ryuu gave her the candy without saying anything. Just dropped it in her palm like it was obvious.

—

She touched the second wrapper.

She laughed. Once.

She didn’t mean to.

The video had been playing on the lounge’s projector, Ryuu, standing stiff in a black-and-white maid outfit, holding a tray like it was a hostage, deadpan while everyone around him broke into pieces. Inko was doubled over on the couch, shoulders shaking. Nejire had fallen halfway off her seat, clutching Eri with one arm like an anchor.

And then… Eri giggled.

A tiny one. A breath too fast. A small sound. A gasp escaped before should even hold.

And froze.

Her hand clamped onto Nejire’s sleeve, eyes wide, waiting for someone to snap… to glare, to hush, to make the air cold again like it had always been when she made noise.

No one did.

Nejire just bounced harder.

Ryuu, in the video, rolled his eyes and gave the camera a slow, exaggerated curtsy.

And that time, Eri giggled again.

They heard it.

And they smiled.

That night, Ryuu gave her a candy. Just tapped it against her forehead and dropped it in her hand. "Brat, you laugh at me now? Dangerous choice. Brave one."

—

She moved to the third candy.

Thunder rolled through the windows, sudden and loud. Her fingers were curled around the blanket, pulled over her head so tight she could barely breathe. Lightning flashed again. Just curled smaller.

Then she got up.

Bare feet. Cold floor. One step. Then another. She didn’t think. Just moved.

She found Ryuu in the hallway.

He was sitting on the floor, knees up, bat across his lap. His head turned when she peeked around the corner.

He scooted over.

That was it.

There was another blanket next to him. She sat. He handed it over. She took it.

And for the first time, she didn’t hide when the thunder came again. She just pulled the blanket tighter, leaning onto him to sleep.

Later, she found a candy on her pillow.

—

Eri sat straighter now. The sun moved a little across the floor.

She counted the candies again, eyes tracing the wrappers.

When she couldn’t count days, she counted pain.

Bruises, silences, rules.

Now… she counts these.

She touched the next.

—

"Can I try your board, Eri-chan?"

Kaminari said it gently, not mean, not demanding. But her arms tightened around the hoverboard instantly. Her knuckles turned white.

She looked at him. Then at Ryuu.

"Mine," she said.

The word came out stronger than she meant.

Kaminari backed up, hands raised. "Got it. Respect."

Someone laughed.

Not at her. With her.

Ryuu held up a hand. She gave him a high five.

Later, in the lounge, he passed her a candy and whispered, "Next time, go for a victory pose."

She didn’t know what that meant. But she said “Mine” again in her head, and it didn’t feel scary.

—

She brushed the fifth candy, fingers slower now.

The batter bowl had been heavy, but she held it steady. Inko stood beside her, showing how to stir. Eri’s grip slipped once..  the spoon clanged against the rim, splashing a little onto the counter.

She froze.

Inko didn’t move sharply. Didn’t scold. She just wiped the counter with a small towel, then handed her an egg.

“Want to try cracking the next one?”

Eri had stared at her hand for a long time.

She tried.

It was messy. Too much shell. Not enough confidence.

Inko still smiled. “Perfect for a first try.”

The candy she earned for that one was warm.

—

The sunbeam reached her toes now.

Eri looked at the candies again, all seven. Little tokens of bravery. Of trying.

One by one, she picked them up and placed them back in her pouch. She folded it closed with careful fingers.

Then she paused.

The pink one.

The one from the night Ryuu let her sit in silence.

She held it a second longer.

Unwrapped it slowly.

It sat in her palm — round, sweet, lemon-honey. Light hit the sugar like a tiny star.

She placed it in her mouth.

It melted slow.

Outside, someone laughed in another room. The kind of laugh that didn’t scare her.

On the couch nearby, Ryuu snored… not loud, but loud enough to be smug about. His bat was balanced on the floor next to him, hand still half-closed around the grip. His head was tilted back like someone had unplugged him mid-thought.

Above him, Nejire floated upside down in a slow loop, a manga resting on her chest like a blanket.

Eri smiled, just a little.

One candy gone.

She didn’t miss it.

She would earn more.